best window to drink an IPA

[bacchusmj]

in my first year of brewing I saved a lot of beers hoping to "savor" them later. However, anything with a noticeable hop presence (IPAs and Pales) lost any and all of their hop characteristics while I was waiting to share them with my wife who was pregnant and later breast-feeding. Now Im left with a lot of beer that seems to be better characterized as bitters.

So, when is the best time to consume the IPAs and Pales I am now starting to brew?

I have an imperial IPA that I just bottled, and a two-hearted clone that I brewed today. Im assuming that after they condition up (3 weeks) they are probably going to be as good as they are going to get. is there a window in which they will maintain their aroma?

 

[Holy_Hops]

It really depends on your own tastes, the recipe, the hops, and the hopping schedule you used. Each beer is its own animal IMO.

Personally I love hops - so when I make a high IBU IPA with big hop character I love the fresh hop taste & aroma and I'll try to drink them as early as 2-3 weeks from grain to glass and try to finish the keg within two months.

On the other hand, I just brewed a pale ale that had a harsh amarillo hop bite right out of the gate, but now 2 1/2 months later it's got a perfect balance and is a much better beer because of it.

 

[PseudoChef]

I personally wouldn't even wait until 3 weeks - I think that's just an arbitrary time frame given to new brewers so they don't rush things. Once you have your process down, I think you'll find beers are carbed and ready to go even sooner. For an IPA and IIPA, once it's carbed - start drinkin'.

 

[Cyclman]

When you spend that much on hops, the sooner the better.

 

[bacchusmj]

I started this post because I brewed a Citra dry-hopped pale ale last april and it was the best beer I had ever had. I saved about 12 for my wife to drink in October after my daughter was born and it wasnt nearly the same. Now it is basically an ordinary bitter with way too much carbonation.

Im sure once the Centenial IPA is on tap in 3 weeks it will be gone by may. I might hold on to some of the imperial, since its 9%ish. I cant go too big on that with a 6 month old.